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Campus Invited to Join Freshmen in Reading MLK Works

Jul 6, 2011 | Atlanta, GA

As a new swarm of Yellow Jackets descends on campus during
FASET orientations throughout the summer, each new student will not only return
home with a stack of informational flyers and a BuzzCard, but with their first
shared undertaking as the incoming class of 2011.

The Center for Academic Success (formerly the Office of
Success Programs) and the Library and Information Center coordinate the Freshman Reading
Project to engage all incoming freshman students in a common reading
experience at the start of their college careers. This year, Martin
Luther King, Jr.,’s“I Have a Dream:
Writings and Speeches That Changed the World” was chosen in conjunction with
the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the matriculation of black students
at Tech.

“Freshman or common reading programs exist at many
colleges and universities, and most share similar goals of enhancing students’
academic engagement and fostering a shared learning experience,” said Steven
Girardot, director of the Center for Academic Success. Tech has offered such a
program on and off for many years, most recently restarting it in 2009.

With this year’s reading, “the hope is to challenge
freshmen to think about how they want to ‘change the world’ and how their Tech
education will help them on the path to doing that,” Girardot said. Faculty and
staff are encouraged to read along with new students as well.

“If faculty,
staff or other students read this book with the incoming class, they would
definitely be more adept at relating to our situations at having to face an
uncertain time coming into college, at a time when we are deciding what to
pursue, and how to spend the rest of our lives,” said Shinjini Das, a second-year
industrial and systems engineering major who participated in last year’s
reading of Warren St. John’s “Outcasts United.” Das believes this year’s choice of literature is apt to motivate and
inspire new students.

“It is
absolutely important to instill the idea of initiating positive change on
campus and in the world from as early as freshman year,” she said. “In this
way, students have goal-oriented mindsets and are intent on revitalizing campus
life. No matter age, freshmen are an integral part of Georgia Tech, and their
fresh perspectives bring so much to the table.”

Some GT 1000 and Literature, Communication and Culture
classes will use the book in classes during the fall, with academic analysis
punctuated by relevant social events throughout the semester. The entire campus
community is invited to join in these various events; details will be updated
throughout the fall at success.gatech.edu.

“I Have a Dream” will be available at a 20 percent discount
to the campus community at the Tech Barnes & Noble Bookstore; consider
reading along with the freshman class by making this your next book club or leisure reading.